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Jesus' heath and healing ministry

Jesus’ love of God’s people is revealed in how he was concerned with the whole person, with their emotional, spiritual, and physical health. He cared about their bodies: He healed paralytics, deaf and blind men, and the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage for 12 years. He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. He fed people regularly and continues to do so today in Holy Communion. He cared about people’s minds and emotions, as he worked with the possessed man at Gerasa, comforted his disciples when he said, “Do not be afraid!” and helped Mary and Martha as they grieved over their brother Lazarus. He was most concerned with people’s souls or spirits, which was evident in his work of salvation and his call to “love one another” and God above all. Jesus’ entire ministry on earth shows us that he does not want us to be stressed, dried out or broken, or to live unhealthy lives.

Reconnecting your spirit with God's
We all know about fighting stress by eating well, getting enough rest, not taking things too seriously, exercising our bodies and minds, managing our time well, and not worrying about things we cannot control. But there's one more thing. How well do we focus on keeping a healthy and flexible spirit? The good news is that keeping our spirit fed and watered, flexible and giving, is not as difficult as we might think.

Regularly hearing God’s word helps our souls stay balanced. Exercising this spiritual discipline even when we feel dried out connects us with God and with a community that prays and sings together. Others lift us and support us, and we know we are not isolated and alone.

Scripture reminds us, “The joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Writer Umberto Eco believes that the sin against the Holy Spirit is to have no sense of humor. Luther said during one of his table talks, "Whenever the devil pesters you, at once seek out the company of friends, drink more, joke and jest, or engage in some form of merriment." His point was that sociability and laughter help relieve the plagues of evil and stress.

When we pray and ask God for help, we are also giving ourselves time to reflect on our lives. This precious space of time and thought can be of immeasurable value.

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus calls a child into the midst of his circle of disciples and says, “Very truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Being “like children” means being open and trusting. Kids have a playful spirit and appreciate and value in the simple things in life.

One thing that has changed my life and helped me to see this more clearly was joining an improv troupe. Improv requires flexibility and openness; to be a good improv-er you need to be present in the moment — much as the Spirit of God asks us to be. I laugh with others and at myself. I play and have fun. And I certainly do not take myself too seriously.

Stress is a part of life, but we do have tools to manage it. Keeping our spirits flexible and soft goes a long way, so the next time it seems that the world is spinning out of control and stress is fracturing your life, take a deep breath, take a time out, and dive into the renewing Spirit.

Dawn Hansen is an ELCA pastor and is the director for programs, Women of the ELCA. To keep flexible, she regularly performs and laughs with her improv troupe, “The Autonomous Collective.”

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In the midst of all of this, the blessing I pray for you is this: That you experience the same surprising giftedness that Zap the widow of Zarephath experienced. Zap went to bake her last biscuit and give it away to Elijah, but was suddenly blessed with plenty of flour and oil for dozens of biscuits.

I pray that as you risk sharing the last of your flour and oil with someone else, you too will be surprised that God gives you enough for tomorrow. I pray that you trust God's promise to provide flour and oil enough that you go out and share all that you have with someone in need.

There are Elijahs in many places in our lives: Someone invites you to walk over to the local church to help with the kids who gather there on Sunday afternoons. You really don't have the energy, and there are dozens of other things you'd rather do, like watching a movie, going to the mall with your roommate, or getting something done on your to-do list. But you go. You give away your flour and oil. And something amazing happens there: You get filled up. You get back more energy than you give.

Maybe you get a call from a friend whose mother has just been diagnosed with a serious illness, and he needs to talk. You have a paper due the next day and a test later in the week, but you listen to him anyway. And in the midst of giving your last bit of flour and oil to him, you find that you have enough for him, for the paper, and for the test.

My friends, as you share your flour and oil, you will get more in return. For that is how God works in the world, isn't it? God gives you enough and you give it away, so the more of it you have. Christ gives you hope, and the more of it you spread around, the more of it you have. God gives you love, and you share it with others, so you get back more love than ever before.

This month, when you have only a little flour left in your backpack and just a smear of oil in the bottom of your Nalgene bottle, and you're wondering if you're going to make it, you just may meet Elijah, and he’ll ask you to make him a biscuit.

I pray that as you share that last biscuit with Elijah, you will be surprised by joy at the blessings of God given to you each day — which is enough. Amen.

The Rev. Sonja Hagander is the Associate College Pastor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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